SHIFTED
by Half a Pint-Sized
Summary: When a group of friends from England travel to Japan on a group holiday, they perform the Sachiko ever After Charm. They are unknowingly thrown into Heavenly Host Elementary, at the mercy of Sachiko and the other ghosts. Do they have what it takes to escape the little girl's clutches? OC cast, possible Yuri or Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I hate planes. They're big, they're loud and the food on board is always awful! It surprises me people even order anything with how poor the quality is, I mean, I don't want my first taste of Japanese food to be what the flight attendant tries to serve me.

Oh yeah, I'm going to Japan. Well, more like _we _are going to Japan. It's a group holiday, just me and a couple of friends, no parents, copious amounts of alcohol, I'm not sure why it had to be Japan though, I just think Michelle has an obsession with the country.

Now that I think about it, this entire trip was Michelle's idea. Really, most of our excursions are hers since she's the only one with enough 'motivation' to get everyone to leave their houses. She's an odd one, that's for sure, but the group is a mish mash of misfits you wouldn't assume would ever hang out together.

Take me for example. I don't want to label myself or my friends, because we really aren't that easy to classify, but some of the meaner kids in school would definitely call me a goth. Or emo, whichever group is the least coolest at the time of the insult, I guess.

So, it kind of doesn't make sense that I hang out with who I do. I'll use Tom, he's your standard jock. He's well liked, great at sports, really good looking, the whole shebang. Yet, we're friends.

I guess you really can choose who your friends are, huh?

Anyway, tagging along with me on this holiday are Tom and Michelle, whom I've already mentioned, along with Dylan, Jack, Alyssa and Jaime. I'll give you a quick run down of each.

Tom: Jock, as previously stated. He's the eldest of our group at 17, his birthday being in January, and when I said he was good-looking, I really meant it. Not to seem like a massive pervert or anything, but all that time at the gym definitely paid off for him, if you know what I mean.

Michelle is also really pretty. She keeps in shape by running all the time, she always invites me to join her on her runs but I can't keep up with her, the girl has bucket loads of stamina. The fact that she's from Spanish descent doesn't hurt either as it means she's inherited a really beautiful skin colour and gorgeous black hair… I get jealous sometimes, being so pale and all.

Who should I describe next… hmm… Dylan. He's not muscular like Tom, but he matches him in height. You should also see some of his baby pictures, because he was adorable, especially because of his blonde hair and green eyes which just made him look like a freaking cherub or something. He's living with Tom and his parents at the moment since his own folks kicked him out. We thought it was because he came out as gay, but it turns out that Dylan had a major addiction to drugs. I don't know what kind since he doesn't like to speak about it but I think Tom helped him and he's clean now! I think…

Alyssa and Jaime are twins, but they try their best to make themselves look different. Alyssa is definitely the more feminine of the two, in fact, she's probably the most feminine of the group. She kind of has a reputation, if you know what I mean, but you could hardly blame her, all the guys are after her it seems. I think it's the hair, all long and blonde, although, it could have something to do with her chest size…

Jaime, on the other hand, is quite the tomboy. She used to play football when she was younger but then the boys stopped letting her play because she kept on beating them. That was funny. She cuts her hair short to differentiate herself from Alyssa and while she's not exactly masculine, she's not as into skirts and make-up as Alyssa is.

Finally, we have Jack. Jack is really smart, I reckon he's going to be the most successful out of all of us. He used to be bullied quite a bit when he was younger because of his skin colour, but he started to take some Tae Kwon Do lessons and now nobody messes with him! He's such a sweet guy though, don't let his image fool you because he's just the best…

So that's it… wait, you want to know who I am? Well, the name's Charlie. I'm, uh, relatively normal I guess. I'm kinda quiet, I can admit that, I'm the girl that sits at the back of the class who never answers questions and hides behind their fringe. Yep, that's me, let's move on now…

So, now, I'm sat in a taxi, making its way towards the hotel we were rooming at. Because our group is so large, we had to take two cars. I'm stuck in the middle of the back seat, squished between Jack and Tom whilst Michelle sits in the front, speaking to the taxi man in broken Japanese.

I chuckle at her attempts, but at least she tried to learn some phrases before we came here, I didn't even bother beyond learning, 'Konnichiwa' and 'Sayonara.'

I sighed and tapped on my phone, opening a game of Tetris as I waited for the cab to make its way through the awful traffic. Tom and Jack seemed to talk over me as I focused on the brightly coloured blocks on my screen. Fortunately, my phone was silenced so the rest of the people in the taxi were not exposed to that awful theme tune.

It took over an hour, apparently, it felt like 10 minutes to me since I was so engrossed in my little game. I crawled out of the cab after Tom shuffled out, letting Michelle deal with the money issue as the taxi driver handed us our luggage. I followed Tom towards the hotel's entrance, where Dylan, Alyssa and Jaime were stood, waving at us.

We had rented two rooms for this holiday, one for the boys and one for the girls. Jaime tagged along with Michelle as they went to the receptionist to get our key whilst Dylan went to get the guy's key. That left me stood there with Alyssa, who was practically buzzing.

"Hey, Charlie, are you excited?" Alyssa asked me, her green eyes shining as she bounced back and forth on her heels.

I smiled at Alyssa the same way one might smile at a barking puppy, "Sure, maybe not as excited as you" I teased the blonde girl, flipping my fringe out of my eyes so I could properly look at her.

Alyssa stuck her tongue out at me, "Don't be like that Char, I know you're excited, you can never be too cool to be excited."

I laughed at that, "Wow, cool? I don't think that's a word that has ever been used to describe me before."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Whatever, come on, they're coming back" she motioned with her head to Michelle and Jaime, grabbing her suitcase with one hand and meeting the two of them.

I followed Alyssa as we managed to squash ourselves into an elevator. All four of us were pressed against each other as we sent the lift up to the 3rd floor, were out room was located. I stumbled out first as the elevator doors opened, narrowly avoiding a Japanese businessman.

"S-Sorry" I smiled apologetically as I walked past him, hearing Michelle utter a "Gomen" behind me. I guess I know how to say sorry in Japanese now.

I waited by our room door as Michelle struggled to fit the key in. She turned the key and walked in, leaving the door wide open for us.

I walked in second, followed by Alyssa and Jaime. The room was kind of small, but it had two double beds and it wasn't like we were going to be spending a lot of time in here. I heaved my suitcase onto one of the beds, claiming it as my own.

The other girls did as I did, apparently I'd be bunking with Jaime, before sitting themselves down wherever they could. I sat on the desk of a small vanity we had in the room and looked at the others.

Jaime was lying down between our cases on the bed, tired out from the long journey. Maybe she had jet lag? Alyssa seemed okay, she was sat on her case with just as much enthusiasm in her as earlier and Michelle had her head stuck in the bathroom, checking it out.

There was a knock at our door and Michelle skipped over to open it.

"Yo!" was all I heard before Dylan pushed his way in, a grin on his face. He was followed by Jack and Tom before Michelle shut the door behind them. They stood around as Michelle locked the door, chuckling ominously.

"Now that we're all here…" Michelle shuffled closer to the group, "We can do this!" she yelled, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.

We all stared at her weirdly, Jaime even managed to sit up to give Michelle a confused look, "Why is that piece of paper shaped like a man?" she asked, her tone of voice telling us she was clearly just humouring the other girl.

Michelle rolled her eyes, "It's a charm, obviously" she sighed, "Come on Jaime, you need to keep with the times."

Jaime looked at me, as if to say, "What the hell is she talking about?" I just shrugged my shoulders at the other girl before turning my attention back to Michelle who was explaining the charm.

"It's called Sachiko ever after" she started, "It's supposed to ensure that whoever takes part in it stay friends forever" she smiled, "We'll all be going our separate ways eventually, I just thought it would be nice to do this, to make sure we're always friends."

I looked at everyone else. They each had a look that caught between pity and sadness. We all knew the group would eventually split, Jack would almost certainly go on to an esteemed university and obtain a degree in something I can't pronounce, maybe even a doctorate. Tom would go on to play some sort of sport professionally, hopefully, heck, even Alyssa would go on to probably have her own business, I'm not sure what, but that girl could definitely do it.

I shrugged, "Okay" I broke the silence, "How do we do it?"

Michelle smiled at me, "We each hold on" she outstretched her hand with the paper man in it, "Then we each chant 'Sachiko Ever After' in our heads seven times, one time for each person holding on, before pulling the paper. Then, we can each keep our piece with us" she grinned.

Tom was the first to take hold of the paper man. I soon followed and each person joined with Jaime being the last.

"Ready?" Michelle asked, earning nods and smiles from everyone in the group.

_Sachiko Ever After, Sachiko Ever After, Sachiko ever After, Sachiko Ever After, Sachiko Ever After, Sachiko Ever After, Sachiko Ever After!_

I pulled, tearing a piece of leg from the paper man and holding it in my hand. I looked at everyone else. They each had their own piece in their hands with smiles on their faces.

Suddenly, the room started to shake. Alyssa screamed as she fell, holding onto the bed. Jaime tumbled backwards onto the bed as I fell into the vanity behind me. Jack toppled over into Dylan, leaving them splayed out on the floor as Michelle fell backwards, hitting her head on the wall.

Tom managed to stay standing the longest, but he too ended up falling over into the entranceway of the bathroom.

"What's going on!" someone yelled, Alyssa I think.

"It must be an earthquake!" came the deep voice of Jack, "Stay down!"

I wasn't sure 'stay down' was the right advice to give, but I had no time to react as my vision faded to black.

…

"Char! Charlie!" I heard a distant voice, "Wake up! God damn Char!"

I took a deep breath as my vision returned to me. I squinted as my vision blurred before my eyes managed to adjust to the light, not that there was much of it.

I immediately recognised the guy shaking me, "J-Jack?" I croaked out, earning a relieved smile from the boy in question.

"Char! Thank fuck!" he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around me, "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" he asked as he retreated from me.

I sat up fully, only just realising I was sat on a wooden floor, nothing like the carpet of the hotel room I had just been in. I looked around at the room and recognised it as a classroom.

"Where are we?" I asked Jack, looking around, "Where is everyone else? What-" I slapped my hand to my mouth as my gaze locked onto something.

Lying a few feet to my right was a body. A rotten, maggot-infested body. A real fucking corpse!

I let out a strangled cry as I detached myself from Jack's grip and scooted backwards, "What the fuck!" I cried out.

Jack followed my gaze and sighed, his expression resigned, "Yeah, I noticed" he muttered, gesturing behind him to a pile of fresh bile. I winced at the sight and buried my head between my legs. I rubbed my hands along my jeans as I tried to calm myself down.

"J-Jack, where is everyone? Michelle? Alyssa? Tom?" I asked him.

Jack just shook his head, running one hand through his buzzed hair, "I have no idea, there's just me and you here" he sighed, "Look, Char, we should get out of here, wherever we are, we're not safe" he gulped, "I can feel it."

I nodded my head as he stood up, offering me a hand. I took it and he pulled me up, not letting go as he dragged me towards the door. It slid to the side, insinuating we were still probably in Japan.

I gripped Jack's hand tighter as we stepped outside of the classroom. There was a massive gap in the floor to our left, leaving the classrooms to our left impossible to get to. I looked to my right, past Jack as we stood there alone in the hallway.

We weren't alone. Whatever brought us here wanted to hurt us, I could feel it. My skin crawled and my hair stood on end as I felt the eyes watching me and I suddenly got the feeling that we wouldn't make it, not me, not Jack, nor anyone else who was here.

No, we weren't going to survive. I was going to die here, my corpse was going to rot on the floor like the one in the classroom. My skin was going to be devoured by maggots and my skeleton would remain lost in the hallways of this school.

I was going to die.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

My vision came back to me slowly, allowing a hazy blur of colours to form in front of me. I was lying down, that much was obvious from the aching in my back, I was definitely on a hard floor.

I lifted my head to look. I was at the bottom of a set of stairs, but as I looked towards the top of the flight, I saw it was blocked. What seemed like broken desks and chairs were pushed against the opening and I knew I didn't have the strength to push it.

I lifted my body up and looked forward. There were stairs going down to the floor below me, and to my right was Michelle.

"Michelle!" I gasped as she smiled worriedly at me, "W-where are we!?'

Michelle looked around before shrugging, "Well, we're on a staircase" she joked, "And we can't go up" she said as she pointedly looked over my head at the barricade at the top of the stairs.

"Ow" Michelle jumped up, practically making me pee.

"W-What!?" I panicked, scrambling to my feet, my phone falling out of my pocket and cluttering across the floor.

Michelle shook her head as she rubbed her bare leg, "I think I just got a splinter off this shoddy wooden floor" she sighed, "Sorry for scaring you" she grinned at me, sticking her hands in the pocket of her denim shorts.

I shook my head and went to get my phone, checking it over. Unlocking the screen brought up a picture of Jaime and I at our 17th birthday party. We thought it would be funny to wear tags that say, "Hello, my name is…" and write the other's name on the sticker, so, I had a sticker on my tee claiming I was Jaime and Jaime had Alyssa written across hers.

Checking my phone proved I had no texts and it wouldn't even pick up any signal. "Damn it" I mumbled, "Does your phone have any signal?" I turned to ask Michelle.

Michelle was staring at the ground but her eyes moved up as I turned, "Hmm?" she asked before my question set in, "Oh" she muttered as she checked her pockets, "I don't know where it went" she frowned.

I nodded, slipping my phone back into my pocket and brushing off my skirt, "Do you know where we are then?" I asked her.

Michelle shook her head, "You've already asked me and my answer's the same, we're on a staircase" she chuckled, "If we want to find out, we have to go down" she said, pointing to the stairs descending downwards.

I shrugged, "Okay then, it's not like we can go up" I tried to joke back but Michelle just walked by me, jogging down the stairs and jumping the last three steps, "Coming?" she asked, turning to look at me.

I nodded and made my way down, focusing on not tripping as I made it to the ground floor. I looked to the left and right.

We were in a hallway, a really long hallway, dotted with doors on either side. "Which way?" I muttered.

Michelle shrugged, "Left" she grinned, pointedly walking in that direction as I scrambled after her.

"How are you so cavalier about this?" I asked her, "We're in the middle of nowhere all alone! And this place is creepy!" I yelled at her, "Stop acting so god damned chipper!"

Michelle stopped and turned sideways to look at me, a calm smile on her face, "Calm down Alyssa" she soothed me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Look, there are paper doors, we're still in Japan" she smiled, "We'll be fine."

I looked at her and shook my head, "But we don't know anything about Japan! We don't live here! We don't know our way around the place!"

She moved her other hand to my other shoulder, looking me in the eye, "Alyssa! Calm down!" she told me, her hands squeezing my upper arms, "Just follow my lead and we'll be okay" she smiled, her hands sliding down my arms to grasp my own, "Now come on!"

I was then dragged by Michelle down the hallway, her practically skipping ahead of me.

Her confidence made me feel better and I soon found myself smiling slightly, _'We'll be safe' _I thought to myself.

"Hehehe… look at the little girl's run…"

I walked into Michelle's back as she stopped instantly, her body tensed in anticipation. I held onto her shoulders and peeked over, seeing nothing down the corridor, "W-What was that?" I whispered down her ear, making sure to keep her black hair out of my mouth.

Michelle gulped audibly, "I…I… It must have been… the wind?" she asked, shaking her head slightly, "Y-Yeah… the wind."

The laughter sounded again, "Hehehe"

"We should have gone right" I muttered to myself, "We should have gone right, we should have gone right!"

Michelle turned and grabbed my hand in a deathly tight grip, tugging me around and pulling me back the way we came, her feet speeding up until we were running down the corridor.

We passed the stairwell we had come down and I looked as we passed. Michelle didn't seem to notice, but I swear there was a little girl stood there in a ragged red dress, staring at us. I locked eyes with her as we went by, but I was gone before I could even talk to her.

"Hehe, I like it when they run, it makes the game more fun…"

I stumbled but continued to run, keeping up with Michelle, "W-Who's laughing!?"I yelled, "Come out and face us like a- ahh!"

My foot caught something, causing me to fall and land on top of something. Michelle tripped as I fell and, since I was holding her hand, she fell to the floor too.

I moved my hands so I could push off whatever I was on top of. My hands met cloth as I pushed, lifting my body up so I could see what it was.

My eyes widened and bile rose in my throat. Beneath me was a girl, her skin decayed and peeling from her bones. One eye was rolled back into her head whilst the other was mysteriously absent, leaving a giant hole crawling with maggots.

I scrambled off the dead girl and instantly choked. I bent over and threw up everything I had it my stomach. I could still see the image beneath my eyelids and the smell kept invading my nose and forcing me to vomit more and more.

A hand held my hair back whilst another rubbed my back. After a few more gags, proving I had nothing left to let out I sighed. My throat and nose stung and tears ran down my face.

"Come on" Michelle whispered, her voice soothing as she helped me stand, "Let's go in here, I'll take care of you" she smiled.

I was led through a door and into a bright room, well, bright when compared to the hallway. The furniture in the room told me we must have been in the infirmary as there were a couple of beds in there.

Michelle moved me over to sit down on a bed and took the curtain that could be drawn around the bed for privacy.

"Here" she handed it to me, "I don't have tissues or anything and you need to wipe your face" she chuckled.

I rolled my eyes as I sniffed, "Yeah, bet I look like shit" I chuckled dryly as I took the curtain from her hand and wiped my face. I cringed as I brought it away from my face to see it covered in sick.

"Gross" I whispered as I threw the curtain away from me, "This place is weird."

I didn't get a response from Michelle. I looked up and she was playing with something on the only desk in the room… a pair of scissors apparently. I frowned, "Michelle?"

She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and turned to look at me, "Huh? Did you say something?" she asked me.

I shook my head, '"No, nothing, are you okay?" I asked her, taking a deep breath to steady myself.

She flashed me a grin, she was back to the Michelle I knew, "I'm totally fine, seriously, it's you I'm worried about" she told me, putting the scissors down as she walked over to me, sitting on the bed beside me.

She put her arm around my shoulders as I leaned into her.

"Don't worry, I'm going to take care of you" Michelle cooed as she stroked my hair, feeding it through her fingers, "Nothing bad is going to happen, you'll see" she smiled down at me.

I looked at her, a dubious look on my face, "Okay, whatever you say Mitch" I chuckled. Michelle only responded by rolling her eyes and letting out a small exhale of laughter before placing her lips on my head.

"You should rest" she mumbled into me, lying me down on the infirmary bed, "I'll keep a look out for any ghosts or goblins okay?' she grinned.

I smiled, "Okay" I agreed with her, laying my head on the pillow and closing my eyes. Sleep came surprisingly easy, despite the jet lag and the circumstances we were in, I felt safe.

What a lie that turned out to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I groaned as I came to, my whole body aching from the earthquake I had just experienced. There was a large weight on top of me, pinning me to the floor and preventing me from getting up.

I looked up and opened my eyes, instantly recognising who was on top of me. The blonde mop of hair on my chest was immediately recognisable as Dylan.

I sighed as I grabbed his shoulders with my arms and rolled him off of me. He groaned when he hit the floor and curled up slightly, almost into a foetal position. I muttered a "Sorry" before looking around.

"What the-?" I muttered to myself as I looked at the room. It had definitely seen better days. It was dark, but there was enough light in the room for me to see the ripped posters on the wall and the rotting floorboards.

"How the hell did we get here?" I asked myself as I crouched by Dylan, grabbing his arms to shake him awake. I do this every morning, I know how to wake this guy up.

"Dylan! Wake your lazy ass up!" I yelled at him, frantically shaking his body. Dylan let out a loud groan before his eyes fluttered open.

"Tom?" he asked, "What time is it?" he rubbed his eyes as he sat up before he realised where we were, "Shit! Where have you taken me?" he panicked as he looked around.

I rolled my eyes at his antics, "I haven't taken you anywhere" I joked, "Why would I want to be alone with you anyway?" I teased him, punching his shoulder.

Dylan winced and rubbed the area I'd hit, "Don't lie to yourself, you know you want this" he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he gestured to his body, "You can't- Wait! Is that Jaime?" he asked, looking behind me.

I turned and, yes, lying down behind me was Jaime. I hadn't noticed her since I'd been so preoccupied with waking Dylan up.

"Yeah" I mumbled as I made my way over to her, shaking her lightly, "Jaime! You awake?"

Jaime didn't respond as quickly as Dylan did, prompting me to worry, "Jaime?" I asked again.

Dylan came over, sitting down on the other side of her, "Allow me" he grinned, taking Jaime's shoulders and lifting her until she was sat up.

"Jaime!" he yelled, shaking her like a rag doll, "Wake up!"

Before I could even react, Dylan brought his hand down to slap Jaime across the face. I was shocked he would do something, but it brought Jaime back into consciousness.

"Ow!" Jaime yelled, bringing on hand up to her, by no doubt, stinging cheek, "What the Fuck Dylan!"

Dylan shrugged, "You're awake now, we were worried" he defended himself, "Can you sit up?"

Jaime looked around. It was obvious she was having the same thoughts I had when I awoke, or the same thoughts Dylan had when he awoke.

"Where are we?" Jaime whispered as she looked around, her voice barely audible.

Dylan shook his head, "We don't know, we don't know where we are, what day it is, why we're here, nothing" he summed it up quite nicely.

I stood up, offering a hand to Jaime, "Regardless, we should explore" I told the two of them as Jaime took my hand.

I pulled her up off of the ground, "Maybe we should split up?" I wondered out loud.

This suggestion was met with a "No way!" from Jaime and a "Fuck that!" from Dylan, resulting in the two of them grasping onto my arms.

"We are not splitting up!" Jaime told me from her position clinging to my left arm, "No way in hell!"

"There could be murderers around here!" Dylan theorised from my right, "If I was alone, I'd be killed for sure! But with you and Jaime…"

I laughed at the two of them, "You're a bunch of wusses" I chuckled, teasing the two of them, '"But whatever, we can stay together."

Jaime seemed to take offence to that, "Hey!" she yelled, punching my shoulder, "I'm not a wuss! I'm tougher than you… dick."

I laughed, "Whatever you say Jaime" I grinned, bringing one hand to mess with her hair. Had she been Alyssa, she probably would have thrown a temper tantrum over me messing up her perfect hairstyle, but this was Jaime, and frankly, Jaime did not give a shit.

"Let's just go" Jaime said, taking the lead, opening the sliding door that would lead outside, "What's the worst that could happen?"

I went to moved forward, but was stopped by Dylan, who was still clutching my right arm.

"Dylan?" I asked him, "Are you okay?"

He looked at me, giving me a strained version of his usual grin, "Y-Yeah, it's just… I kind of am a wuss…"

I chuckled, messing with his hair much like I did to Jaime, "Yeah, but nothing's gonna happen, Jaime and I, we'll keep you safe" I grinned.

"Guys!" came the voice of Jaime from outside the room, since she had already started to explore, "You coming or what?"

"Yeah!" I yelled back, stepping forward and hoping Dylan would follow my lead. He did, and we made our way to Jaime.

Outside was a hallway. It wasn't particularly long. The floor was wooden and the walls were painted an off-white.

"Guess we're not going this way…" Jaime muttered, looking to our right. I looked past her to see that the floorboards had given way, leaving a gaping hole in the hallway. Beyond the hole was a stairwell, but clearly, we wouldn't be going down any time soon.

"Left it is then" I said as I began walking that way. Jaime nodded and followed me and Dylan was forced to as he was still clinging onto my arm.

Unfortunately, the hallway only led one way, and once we were at the opposite end of the corridor we were faced with the same problem, a large hole blocking our entrance to another stairwell, this one most likely leading upstairs.

"Damn…" I muttered, turning back around, "I guess we should check these rooms then, we can't do anything else."

Jaime shrugged her shoulders in agreement, "I guess" she said as she tried to pull on a door. However, no matter how hard she tugged on the door, it wouldn't budge.

"It won't" she tugged on the door again, "It won't open!"

I moved forward, Dylan's arms untangling from mine as I tried to open the door, but not even mine and Jaime's combined strength could open the door.

"It feels fake" I exhaled as I took a step away from the door, "Like there's not even a room beyond it."

Dylan frowned, moving past me and past Jaime and down towards the next door. A sign above the door labelled it as '2-C.'

He tugged on the door, and this one seemed to move, unlike the one Jaime and I were stood by, but as soon as it did, a piercing scream sounded.

"GET OUT! GET AWAY!" a demonic voice yelled. Dylan was thrown backwards as the door rattled and slammed shut. He hit the wall behind him and sat, shivering violently.

Beside me, Jaime screamed, "Dylan!" she panicked, running over to the blonde boy. I followed, taking a calming breath and trying to ignore the fact that something was in that room that was capable of throwing Dylan away from the door.

"Dylan! Are you okay?" Jaime asked as she put her hands on his face and looked him over, "Speak to me Dylan!"

Dylan shook his head, bringing his knees closer to his chest, "B-Bodies" he mumbled, "T-There are bodies in there, bodies!" he shook his head violently, hiding his face in his knees, "There are dead people in that room!"

Jaime took her hands from him and gulped, her eyes drifting towards the shut door of '2-C'. I placed my own hand on Dylan's shoulder, "Dylan" I attempted to comfort him, "Dylan, you're okay, you're alive."

Dylan brought his face up to look at me, tears streaming down his face, "But if they died here, what's to say we won't?" he asked me, "And it's not like anyone will find us! No one will ever know where we are! Not Jack or Alyssa, not Charlie or Michelle, not your parents, nobody!"

Jaime grabbed Dylan's head, turning it forcefully to face her before slapping him across the face. It may have just been revenge for earlier, but it got Dylan out of whatever shit he was in.

"Man up Dylan!" Jaime yelled at him, "We can't drag your sobbing ass around here, I know this is scary but we have to keep our cool!" she reminded him, "So stand up and march on to the next door, cause it's all we can do right now!"

Dylan rubbed his cheek before wiping away his tears, "Okay" he mumbled, pushing himself up the floor, refusing any help I tried to offer him, "Let's go to the next door…"

I looked to Jaime and sighed, deciding to take this next one for myself. I walked to the door of '2-B', the room next to the one the three of us woke up in and tugged open the door.

The door slid open without a problem. I looked back at Dylan and Jaime before walking in, taking in the room. It was largely identical to the room we awoke in, only this time there were desks in the room. I imagine they were once in orderly lines, but now they were all pushed to the sides of the room or toppled over.

There was also writing on the blackboard beside me. I couldn't read it, since it was written in Japanese, or at least, I assume it was written in Japanese, but it was also written in a suspicious red liquid.

I pointedly ignored the board as Jaime and Dylan walked in behind me. Because of their lack of reaction, I imagine neither of them noticed the blackboard, or just didn't care.

A glint of metal in the pile of broken chairs caught my eye. I heard Jaime walk past me to the other end of the room as I walked towards the chairs, searching through the wooden carcasses.

Within a minute, I grasped something cold and metal. I pulled it out to see it was a key. What it opened, I had no idea.

"Guys, I found a key" I grinned, looking to Dylan first. However, his gaze was focused ahead and an expression of horror was on his face.

I gulped before turning my head to look the other way, towards Jaime. Her body was trembling in fear.

The reason? Something was in front of her.

A glowing ball of blue light floated about a meter in front of Jaime. It didn't move closer or further away, nor did it make a sound or react to our presence at all, but I had a terrible feeling.

Waves of anger seemed to pulsate out from the floating blue light, anger and fear and desperation. I made my muscles freeze, paralysing me, ensuring I wouldn't be able to do anything should anything bad happen, and from the looks of it, neither Dylan nor Jaime could move either.

Bizarrely, but thankfully, the ball just stayed there and floated. After what seemed like a decade, the thing started to dissipate, becoming more transparent until it was no longer there.

The feelings of anger and fear disappeared and I regained control of myself. I let out a sigh of relief before Jaime fell to her knees and hunched over, violently gagging on something.

I went over to her to soothe her, assuming she was about to hurl before I noticed what was coming out of her mouth.

_Hair._

Clumps of long black hair were coming out of her mouth. She brought her hands up to her mouth and pulled the hair from inside of her.

It seemed endless. The amount she was pulling out of her was impossible! This hair must be all the way down her throat, inside of her stomach or something! I winced and cringed as she continued to gag and choke on the hair, pulling and pulling until the end came out.

This left Jaime hunched over a large pile of wet, black hair. Immediately after, she spat as much as she could. Her saliva landed on the wooden floor, full of tiny strands of black hair.

"What was that?" she asked shakily, wiping her mouth with her sleeve and taking a deep breath, "H-How was all of that inside of me?"

"I-I don't know" I answered, as confused as she was, "I don't understand."

She rested her forehead on the floor, "God, there was so much" she sniffed, clearly on the verge of breaking down, "I-I could feel it inside me, suffocating me…" she stopped, bringing a hand to her mouth, afraid she was going to be sick.

I brought my hand to her back, "It's okay now" I muttered, standing up, "Dylan, you okay?"

Before Dylan could respond, the room started to shake. It knocked me off my feet and I almost toppled into the trembling Jaime.

"Ah!" Dylan yelled as he too fell to the floor. A cabinet in the room, the small panes of glass darkened so we couldn't see what was inside, teetered dangerously.

"Dylan!" I screamed, "Look out!"

Thankfully, Dylan seemed to understand and managed to roll away, just as the cabinet fell. Glass shards skittered across the shaking floor, cutting Dylan's arms a bit. He winced but just held his arms over his head, trying to protect himself.

Meanwhile, I threw myself at Jaime, protecting her since she was clearly not in any state to protect herself.

After a moment, the rumbling stopped. I cautiously sat up, looking around. Dylan too was getting up, wincing at the blood trickling down his arms.

"You all right?" I called to Dylan who just nodded at me weakly. I turned my attention to Jaime who was sitting herself up, "How about you?"

Jaime nodded, keeping her eyes downcast, "I'm fine now, you good?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"G-Guys…" came the trembling voice of Dylan, "Look at the doors."

I did as I was told and turned my eyes towards the doors in the room and gasped. Bands of long black hair were tightly woven around the door, completely obscuring it from my view.

I ran towards the door to try and dig through the hair to find the handle, but the hair was like wire. It was tough and cut away at my fingertips.

"Shit! Ow, don't touch it!" I warned Dylan, who was by the other entrance into the room, "We can't break through…"

"Then we're trapped then?" Jaime asked, standing up fully, "We're trapped in this room?"

I looked around, getting an idea. I quickly picked up a desk and threw it at the windows that lined the far wall. Jaime jumped at my outburst and Dylan gave a little yelp, but all the desk did was bounce back off the window.

"What!" I yelled, trying a second time, "How does a window even do that!?"

Dylan came over to stop me from throwing the desk a third time, "Tom, it's no use, that window isn't breaking" he sighed, "Just, drop the desk."

I sighed and let go, the desk thudding onto the wooden floorboards, "Then how do we get out of here?" I asked him.

Dylan's eyes met mine and he shook his head, "I-I don't know…"

I turned my head to face Jaime, who had her arms wrapped around her torso. She dropped her eyes as they met mine and refused to give me an answer.

I sat down on the floor, "Guess we're stuck then" I mumbled before lying down fully, placing an arm across my eyes.

I heard Dylan walk away to the opposite side of the room, leaving each of us alone in our own section.

_'What do I do now? How do I get out of this? Where did that hair even come from?' _I wondered to myself, knowing they were questions I was never going to get the answers too, _'I just wanted a holiday, why did this have to happen to me?'_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Charlie's hand gripped mine in a vice-like grip as we walked down the hallway of the seemingly abandoned school we were in. Our footsteps were the only sound breaking the eerie silence and every second we spent walking through these identical halls made me more and more anxious.

"Hey, Char…" I mumbled, causing her to look up at me through her fringe, "Do you think we're… underground?

She cocked her head to the side, "Well, I guess we could be" she mused, "Though I haven't exactly given it much thought, why would you think we're underground anyway?"

I shrugged, "Well, there was an earth quake in the hotel room" I told her, "Which isn't strange since we are… were in Japan, so, maybe the ground opened up and swallowed us…"

Charlie began laughing at that, "Wow, I thought you were the smart one" she chuckled, "Even I know that's not how earthquakes _really _work."

I could feel heat rush to my face and made a point of facing away from her, "Whatever" I mumbled.

Charlie's chuckles died down, "Well, it's as good a guess as any" she sighed, "But I hope we aren't, I imagine it would be quite difficult to escape from an underground school" she smiled.

I turned my head so I could look at her through the corner of my eye, "Yeah, I imagine it would" I agreed with her as we turned a corner, "God damn, all these hallways look the same!"

"That's because we've been going in circles" Charlie said from beside me.

I looked at her, "What?" I asked her before examining our surroundings again, "Why didn't you say?"

"I've only just noticed" she told me, "But I think this floor is set out in a square pattern and we've just been following the same hallway around and around…"

I sighed, "But none of the doors open" I muttered, having tried to open some earlier just after we left the classroom we had been left in, "W-Wait, we haven't been in this hallway before..."

"Yes we have" Charlie disagreed with me, "You see that notice board?" she asked as she lifted a finger to point to the wall a little further ahead, "We've definitely passed it before, I even remember there's a newspaper cut out with these four kids on it…" she pointed out the pictures as we got closer, "See, right there."

I looked and, sure enough, there was a torn newspaper cut out with four pictures of children side by side, three girls and one boy. Unfortunately, even if I could read Japanese, only half of the article was on the board and the writing had faded so the characters would probably be difficult to read.

I turned to look at Charlie, "Yes, I remember, but if you also remember…" I turned myself around, leaning back against the broken notice board, "There was… someone there" I said, pointing at the floor by the opposite wall.

It seemed to take a moment for Charlie to catch on, but I'm sure she remembered the broken boy's corpse that lay there when a flash of panic crossed her face.

"Oh God" she panicked, nervously chipping away at her black nail polish, "Shit! Don't tell me it's a zombie! I cannot fucking deal with a zombie!"

I shivered at the thought, "It would be more like a skeleton to be fair" I tried to joke, flashing a weak grin at Charlie, who only responded by chipping away at her nails more furiously.

"Fuck you Jack" she mumbled, "I say we pry our way into one of these rooms and break a window and just run away" she suggested, "Get away from the fucking zombies."

I shook my head, "Char, there aren't any zombies" I patted her shoulder, "When did you start believing in shit like that anyway?"

"When we fell into a creepy-ass school because we ripped apart a paper man" she scoffed, sarcasm lacing her voice, "Maybe this is the paper man's revenge for us violently tearing his limbs off?"

I shook my head, "I doubt it, I've ripped up paper before without being punished for it" I chuckled, "Lighten up Char, you're making me all tense."

Charlie sighed, blowing her fringe from her eyes with a short puff of breath, "Let's just get moving, I don't want to stay still, there's no way we'll get out then" she said as she propped herself up off of the wall and began to walk.

As I pushed myself off to follow Charlie, we heard some irregular footsteps from around the corner. Charlie froze.

I stood still beside her as the footsteps seemed to come closer to the corner in front of us, up until a thud was heard, along with some girlish squeals.

I looked to Charlie as she turned her head to look at me. We nodded simultaneously and turned the corner just as we heard the sounds of vomiting.

However, when we turned the corner, there was nobody there. The only thing before us was the body of a young girl, one eye missing and one eye festering with maggots.

"Gross" I muttered as the sounds of vomiting continued. That, coupled with the smell of the girl's corpse almost made me gag and, by the way Charlie had her hand in front of her mouth, it almost made her gag too.

When the sounds of throwing up stopped, I heard a voice. It was undeniably Michelle's, and it was soothing.

"Come on, let's go in here, I'll take care of you" Michelle's voice echoed all around us. It was as if she was right in front of us, yet nobody was there.

"Michelle!" Charlie shouted, "Where are you!?"

There was no response, the only sound was that of a door opening and closing shut, leaving us in silence.

"Where is she?" Charlie muttered, turning around to look behind us frantically, "She was right here! I swear she was!"

I turned to look behind us too, but nothing was behind us.

"I heard it too" I told Charlie, frowning, "I heard her, but… there's nothing here…"

I turned around with a sigh, facing the direction of the girl's corpse, only to stop dead in my tracks.

"Char" I whispered, looking ahead at the two figures before us, "Shit, Char!"

Charlie whirled around, freezing as she caught sight of the two before us.

One figure was a hulking man in overalls. He would have looked relatively normal if it wasn't for his pallid grey skin and glowing red eyes. Oh, and the axe in his hand made him even more fucking terrifying!

The second, floating beside him, was a little girl. I don't believe in the supernatural, but I can't describe her as anything other than a ghost. I could see through her blue form, right down to the other end of the corridor.

"Shit!" I cursed as Charlie grabbed onto my arm.

"A zombie!" she panicked, her eyes fixed onto the large man, "A zombie! He's a zombie!"

I shook my head, "Fuck that! There's a ghost!" I yelled, looking from Charlie to the ghost in question. My eyes met hers and my body froze.

I couldn't look away. I couldn't move. I could only stare at the girl's face, no matter how disgusted it made me to look into the empty eye socket of the girl. A grin appeared on the girl's face, "There's two more of them" she stared at me, "Two more toys."

Charlie yanked on my arm, her voice came to me, "Jack!" her voice was muffled, as if I was under water hearing her, "Jack! We gotta run!" she yelled, screaming to try and get through to me.

I tried to move, I tried to look at her, but I couldn't! I couldn't move my eyes from the ghost's as she crept ever slowly forward, followed by the lumbering zombie in overalls.

"Jack!" I felt a pain in my arm as she hit me, "We have to get away from them! Please! Snap out of it!"

No, I can't. I can't move. She won't let me. I might not know the specifics, but this little girl ghost was definitely stopping me from moving.

"Fuck! I-I'm sorry" I heard Charlie sob before I felt her leave my side. Her footsteps echoed away behind me as the ghost came closer.

_Fuck! Char! No, don't leave me alone with them! They're going to hurt me!_

The girl came even closer, but surprisingly, just floated past me. I didn't understand why, but as she passed and her eye moved from mine, I found myself able to move. My muscles seemed to react to my demands now as I turned to follow the little girl's path.

The girl was about to turn the corner, surely to chase after Char.

"Char! Look out! She's following-" my voice was cut off as pain bloomed at my shoulder.

The girl disappeared round the corner as I screamed. I fell to my knees, then onto the floor, lying on my right cheek.

I looked at my shoulder. The pain wracked my body with shivers as I stared at where my arm should have been. What remained was a stump, oozing copious amounts of blood onto the floor.

The realisation dawned on me as the hulking man stepped into my view, dragging his bloodied axe along the floor. That was my blood.

I turned my head minutely to look behind me. There lay my arm, the sleeve of my t-shirt hanging onto the bloodied stump that should have been my shoulder.

'_Fuck!'_ I thought as the creature stopped before me. The loss of blood must have been getting to me, because my vision started to blur and the pain started to ebb away, but I was not going to give up.

'_Get up!' _I yelled to myself, forcing my body to listen.

It was difficult without my arm to push myself up, but I managed to inch forward, closer and closer to that corner. Somehow, I thought, if I could make it to that corner, I would be fine.

However, it wasn't meant to be. I heard a grunt as the muscular man lifted his axe, the metal grinding against the floor before it was lifted in the air.

_'Fuck you Char!' _I screamed in my head as the axe was brought down, splitting the skin between my shoulder blades and destroying my muscles. I screamed as my vision blurred.

I couldn't say what happened next, because I blacked out. Darkness consumed me as my blood poured from my dying body, my shoulder throbbed one last time as I let out my last breath.

'_I hate you Char, you did this to me!' _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Michelle! Where are you!?"

The voice startled me awake, causing me to sit up, alert, in the hospital bed, "W-What?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes tiredly as I took in the scene in front of me.

"Where is she? She was right here! I swear she was!"

I was about to call out, recognising the voice. It had to be Charlie.

Before I could respond though, a hand covered my mouth. I screamed, the sound muffled against the palm pressed against me, before realising who it was.

Michelle inched into my view, a finger held against her lips to signify silence. Perhaps my eyes were questioning, because she mouthed the word 'Trap' clearly before placing her finger back at her lips.

My eyes drifted from Michelle to the door, where the noises were coming from. More words were spoken by the voice that I thought was Charlie, before another one cut in.

"Char! Shit, Char!"

This time it was a male's voice, deep and resonant and instantly recognisable as Jack.

I turned to look at Michelle again, who only shook her head. I didn't understand why. How could this be a trap?

Jack's voice disappeared entirely as Charlie started to speak faster and faster. She was begging him, for what I do not know, but she kept on telling him that they had to run.

It was clear from her voice, all shrill and panicked, that the two of them were in danger. I threw the hospital covers off of my body as I launched myself from the bed, running to the door.

My hand reached for the handle, but before I could grasp it, a strong arm wrapped around my midsection, pulling me backwards.

I fell back into Michelle, who was restraining me from going out there to help our friends, "Michelle! What are you doing? They need help!" I yelled, struggling, trying to get out of her grasp.

Michelle's grip around me only tightened as she brought her other arm to wrap around my chest, restricting my movement further, "No! You are mine, not theirs!" she responded, "All mine" she whispered down my ear, making shivers run up and down my spine.

Her voice. It was strange. It was lower, it didn't belong to Michelle.

"M-Michelle, what's gotten into you!?" I yelled, trying to break free of her hold, "This isn't you! Snap out of it!"

She only laughed at that and, much like her voice, that laugh didn't belong to Michelle. The laugh would seem better suited to an old witch on a broom stick, flying away after dealing a nasty spell.

"Poor Alyssa" Michelle cackled, her grip on me tightening, making my muscles ache in protest, "Maybe you should have spent more time toughening up instead of sleeping around" she sneered.

I winced at the accusation, tears forming in my eyes because of the mix of hatred in my friends voice and the pain she was dealing, "P-Please, let me go" I whimpered, still trying to wrench myself free, "I don't understand, w-why are you hurting me?"

There was a growl and Michelle's muscles flexed. Pain blossomed at my side as something snapped, _'Ah! W-Was that a r-rib?' _I panicked in my head as I yelled out loud.

Michelle, or whatever Michelle actually was right now, just laughed at my pain. "Stupid girl! Maybe you'd realise if you ever paid attention! You'd realise how I-" she was cut off by rumbling.

The room shook and things fell as another earthquake hit us. Luckily for me, the quake was enough for Michelle's hold to loosen. I struggled free, Michelle turning around from the force of the earthquake and myself, forcing me to run towards the opposite side of the room after I escaped her clutches.

I did run, but the earthquake sent me careening into the floor, which made my side blossom out in pain again. I let out a small yell before biting my lip and struggling on. I didn't even look back to check on Michelle as I made my way to the hospital desk, using the legs to pull myself up.

I held onto the desk once I was fully stood and waited for the quake to finish. When it did, I looked back to Michelle, who was picking herself up off of the floor. Her bangs covered her face as she stood, making me take a small step back.

Then, she looked at me. It chilled me to the core. Her eyes were bloodshot and bugged out of her head and her grin was so menacing. It made me shiver when she gave a long laugh.

It was only then, when Michelle's head was thrown back in laughter, that I noticed the faint blue glow emanating from her.

No, not from her… behind her.

Whilst Michelle was distracted, I inched to my left, craning my neck to peer behind my friend.

Right behind her was a boy. He had his arms outstretched forwards and his palms facing outwards, towards Michelle's back. He wasn't facing me, so I assumed he was too engrossed in controlling Michelle.

Yes, controlling. Somehow I knew that this little boy was the reason behind Michelle's actions. The faint blue glow and the fact that I could see through him was enough proof to show that he wasn't normal and I was 99% certain he was a ghost.

"M-Michelle" I whispered as I inched back, to block the little boy from my view, "Listen to me, you're not yourself" I told her, "P-Please, resist it!"

Michelle's laughter stopped, and her head slowly craned downwards until she was looking at me.

"You're an idiot" came a chuckle. It wasn't Michelle's voice and it wasn't Michelle's mouth that moved. "I'm in control now, she can't hear you."

With that, Michelle took a shaky step forward, as if she was uncertain. After that, her steps became more certain as she advanced over the wooden floorboards.

"Stay back!" I yelled, my right hand scrambling over the desk for anything, "I'm warning you Michelle!"

My hand met the scissors that she had been playing with earlier, and I grasped them, holding them in front of me.

"Michelle! Stay back!" I threatened, one last time.

Michelle just laughed again before lurching forward, her arms out to grab me.

I slashed at her with the scissors in front of me, catching her upper arm. It was a deep cut and blood ran down Michelle's arm, but she didn't stop.

Before I could even think to defend myself, her hand met my face, stunning me and knocking me off my feet. The scissors clattered out of my hand and skittered along the floor.

I tried to clamber forward, using all my strength to raise myself to my knees so I could crawl along the floor. However, a hand grabbed my leg.

Thankfully, I managed to get Michelle to let go by kicking my leg furiously. When she growled and her hand left my ankle, I turned over.

She looked down at me, her eyes crazed. "Oh, I've dreamed of this" she chuckled darkly before launching herself on top of me, crushing me and making it hard to breathe.

My hands scrambled to push her away from me. When Michelle lifted herself just barely to crawl further up my body, I brought my legs up, blocking her from getting to me. Then, I kicked out, pushing Michelle off of me and into the desk with my feet.

"Bitch!" she yelled as knick-knacks fell off the table and clattered onto the floor, some hitting her. I scrambled backwards, trying to gain distance from my crazed friend and get closer to the only thing that resembled a weapon.

I turned onto my front as I got away from Michelle and reached out for the scissors. My hand grasped the cool metal just as Michelle grasped my ankle, pulling me backwards along the floor.

I screamed, my nails scraping along the floorboards as I was dragged back. My stomach and legs hurt as my clothes rode up my body, leaving my skin raw as it rubbed against the uneven flooring.

"Stop it!" I shouted, my throat sore and my voice scratchy, "Michelle, p-please, don't make me do this!" I begged as I looked over my shoulder.

But the girl holding onto me wasn't Michelle anymore, she just looked like her.

With every ounce of strength in my body, I flipped myself over, hitting not-Michelle with my weapon free hand. She tumbled off of me and I continued to roll until I was on top of her.

I sat on top of her, bringing the scissors up above my head, "I'm sorry!" I screamed, tears leaking from my eyes and creating black streaks down my face, no doubt my mascara was running.

Then, I brought the weapon down, with the full intent to kill my friend.

However, her hands grasped my wrists, stopping me. I knew Michelle was strong, stronger than me, but this was unreal. She was holding on so hard that my bones hurt.

I whimpered as my body shook, "L-Let go!" I yelled in her face, trying to pull my arms back. I even tried throwing my whole body backwards to get her to let go, but she didn't.

She rose up off of the ground, forcing me to bend backwards until I toppled off of her. My hands shook as they started to go numb, maybe because no blood could get through not-Michelle's vice-like grip to my hands.

The scissors fell between us, but not-Michelle didn't seem to notice as she continued to push me.

In no time at all, not-Michelle had my back pinned against the wall. Her eyes locked on mine and I couldn't look anywhere else. That haunted gaze held mine, turning my blood into ice in my veins.

"Alyssa" not-Michelle croaked out, one hand caressing the side of my face, making me flinch away. She grabbed my chin, forcefully keeping my face still, "Stay here, with me, forever."

"N-No" I protested weakly, my hands twitching as my legs kicked in desperation. She sat on my thighs, keeping my legs pinned to the ground.

I started to cry again as her expression became angry. Somewhere in the background, I could hear the little boy darkly chuckling, "Fool!" not-Michelle hissed, her hand moving away from my chin and down to my neck.

I was scared she was going to choke me and I tensed, but her hand continued to run down me. I took in a shuddering breath as her hand ran down to my breast and winced when she grasped it firmly in her hand.

I cried out, in desperation, in anger, in fear. "Help me!" I cried, wishing for someone, anyone to run through the door. I wished for Michelle to break through the hold, I wished for the little boy to disappear, I wished for a lot of things, but wishes never seemed to come true.

After not-Michelle had finished with me, leaving me sore and hurt, her hand scraped to grab the scissors.

"N-No" I protested weakly, the feeling in my arms gone completely from being held above my head for so long, "P-Please, I-I don't want to die!" I screamed.

Not-Michelle cackled once more, "Too bad" she said, before bringing the sharp metal down into my skin.

I screamed as it pierced my flesh, tearing open my shoulder and digging into muscles I didn't know I had. My whole arm had lost feeling anyway, but I'm pretty sure I would be unable to use it at all now, "Stop it!"

Not-Michelle grinned manically, as she brought the scissors out. My blood flew as the scissors were ripped out at such a speed, tearing more flesh and splattering our bodies, staining us red.

Without warning, she brought the scissors down again, this time into my chest. I felt the fabric of my clothing cut away a split second before the cold metal pierced me again. I let out a strangled cry, opening my mouth to scream bloody murder, but my sounds were muffled.

Not-Michelle had leaned forward, bringing her lips to my own as I screamed. I shut my mouth, wishing I had the energy to push her away, but the aching in my body and the blood rushing out of me left me with nothing to work with.

Frustrated, not-Michelle twisted the scissors, causing me to open my mouth in pain. She forced her tongue down my throat, causing a fresh waved of tears to fall down my cheeks.

'_Get off me' _I wished weakly, '_Stop touching me.'_

My prayers were answered as not-Michelle broke the kiss for air. I hung my head as she ripped the scissors out of me again. I grunted, largely unable to scream anymore.

Everything hurt. My arms, my shoulder, my chest, my throat, my legs and even between my legs. This was why I was unable to stop the finishing blow.

I could not stop not-Michelle from attacking me again, I could not stop her from lifting my head so that the last thing I would ever see is my former friend's crazed and hungry face and I could not stop her from slashing with the scissors.

The metal tore through my throat, leaving a burning pain behind that only lasted for a second.

Because after that, I was dead. I couldn't feel the rip in my neck, nor the ache in my joints. I couldn't see not-Michelle or the little ghost boy and I couldn't hear anything.

Everything was peaceful… until the pain hit me again and again. I tried to scream, but I no longer had a voice, nor a mouth in which my scream would come from.

'_A ghost feels the pain of their death for all eternity'_ I heard a voice whisper to me before a girl appeared before me. Surrounded by inky black darkness, she glowed like an angel, but she was a cold blue, like the boy that essentially took my life.

She had nothing from the jawline upwards, making me wonder how she could even speak to me before a new waved of pain hit me.

_'You'll be here forever' _the girl muttered, _'Welcome to Heavenly Host Elementary.' _


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter ****6**

All I could hear was my panting breath and the sounds of my boots hitting the wooden floor as I ran with all I had. I looked over my shoulder, throwing my brown hair out of the way to see if I was still being pursued.

I was not.

My sprint slowed down into a jog and finally a walk until I halted completely. I placed my hands on my knees and crouched there, in the middle of the corridor, attempting to catch my laboured breath.

"S-Shit" I whimpered, realising what I had done, "Jack…"

I fell backwards, my back hitting the wall, before sliding down until I was sat on the floor. I buried my face between my knees as I thought.

"I left him" I mumbled to myself, the guilt in my stomach weighing me down, "H-He couldn't move and I just left him there" I whimpered as flashes of the scene ran across my vision. Images of Jack, his eyes bugging out of his head and his expression scared as he stared at the little girl ghost. I could feel his arm shaking underneath my hands.

"No!" I gritted my teeth together as I shook my hands, trying to get rid of the feeling of my trembling friend, "I did what I had to, to save myself" I told myself, in an attempt to justify my running away.

I looked down the corridor again, anxiously checking to see if either the little girl ghost of the hulking zombie were there. They weren't.

That got me looking at where I was. The run was a blur to me, but I'm pretty sure I ran up a set of stairs and I'm definitely sure that Jack and I hadn't explored these halls.

"He might be okay" I mumbled as an image of Jack appeared behind my shut eyelids, "Maybe he got away."

But even I knew I was fooling myself. He couldn't move, something had just refused to let him and that man, the zombie in overalls, had an axe. I imagined the scene, the zombie man violently hacking away at Jack until he was just a piece of unrecognisable flesh and blood.

I felt bile rise up within me, burning my stomach and throat as I threw myself forward onto my hands and knees quickly. As I choked, nothing came up, leaving me to just spit a horrid taste out of my mouth.

"Don't think about it" I told myself in a weak, shaky voice, "Just don't think about it…"

But how could I not? I'd left a poor boy to his fate, the least I could do is at least have the fucking balls to think about him. I thought of how he wouldn't be able to see his family again. He'd never get the chance to go to university. He'd never get married or have kids, all because I didn't have the courage to stand beside him and snap him out of whatever chance that little bitch had him in!

"Fucking ghosts and zombies" I muttered as I pushed myself off the ground, wiping away at some invisible dirt on my jeans before taking a staggering step, "I have to carry on" she muttered, "Maybe I can find something…"

What I wanted was a weapon, something that would make me feel less like a damsel in distress and a little more like a knight in shining armour. It didn't have to be anything special, hell, I'd kill for a baseball bat right now, but at the end of the day, I don't think I had what it takes to try to open any of the doors along the corridor.

I thought about my friends in that moment, as I stumbled down a dark corridor, wondering how I would make it out. I thought of what they would do in this kind of situation.

I had no doubt Alyssa would be as confused and lost as I was. In fact, not that I would ever openly state it, but I think she would probably be holding up less well than me.

Of course, Dylan wouldn't fare much better, but I at least thought he would have the courage to open some of these doors.

Jaime and Michelle were both braver than I, so I had no doubt that they would be in a better position than me. In fact, Jaime would probably have armed herself somewhere, willing to fight anything off, whereas Michelle would probably just saunter along like nothing strange was happening.

And Tom. He'd have no trouble. Neither would Jack if he hadn't been burdened with me. But he had, and now he was most likely gone.

Leaving me here, alone.

I stopped by one door. I brought my hand up to the handle, tracing it lightly with my fingers before grasping it tightly.

"You can do this Char" I told myself, trying to psyche myself up, "It's just a door, nothing bad will happen…"

But still, I could not find the courage to open the door.

"Damn it!" I yelled, curling up my hand into a fist and banging it against the door.

The effect was instantaneous. Without warning, the dark windows next to the door that I could not see through, regardless of how close I got to them, began to shake. Something was thrown against them and they shattered, spreading tiny pieces of glass along the floor which twinkled in the dim light.

Covering the floor, and pouring out of the broken window frames, was a copious amount of blood. The pieces of glass were stained red as it gushed out of the room, pouring down the wall and collecting on the floorboards.

I stumbled backwards, falling onto my ass with a scream. I pushed myself backwards as the pool of blood got bigger, filling up the entire width of the hallway and sliding closer and closer to me.

"Get away!" I yelled, turning my body and scrambling to my feet. Energy returned to me as I ran, away from the strangely sentient puddle of blood and away from whatever was in that room.

I ran down the corridor, the blood and the broken window fading into the inky darkness behind me. Luckily for me, I managed to spot the giant hole in the floor before I ran into it.

"Crap" I yelled as I skidded to a halt, taking a few cautious steps to look down. I could see nothing, just a black abyss, waiting for me to lose my balance so it could swallow me up whole.

"Not today" I muttered, taking a few hasty steps back. I looked to my left to see a door. If the hole was just a little further along, I would have been able to explore the room on my right, but as the situation was, I was unable to go anywhere but into the room on my left.

Well, except go back the way I came.

"Not happening" I sighed as I pictured the blood. Then I pictured the zombie man in overalls once more, and the glowing ghost girl.

"In here then…" I muttered, my courage dissipating as I grasped the handle. I looked to the wall on either side of the door, but there was no window to be found.

"Just checking" I assured myself before opening the door before me. Admittedly, the act of mustering the courage to open the door took a while and it took even longer to fully lower the handle in front of me and push against it.

But I managed. I let out a sigh of relief when nothing tried to grab me or hurt me, or in any way at all frighten me. "What is this?" I muttered to myself as I walked in, my face screwed up in confusion.

In my opinion, where I stood was too small to be considered a room. A cupboard would be a more accurate description. There was a singular light bulb hanging from the grey ceiling, which provided only enough light to see how small the room actually was. I could reach out and touch the walls on either side of me, and that was without fully extending my limbs.

Really, the only item of interest in here was some sort of lever. It was large and grey, made of a metal that had rusted long ago. It was built into the far wall, not that it was really all that far away from me.

I reached out and grasped the lever. I tried to pull it, but the metal didn't even budge under my weight. I tried applying more force, but even then it resisted. I let out a puff of air, blowing my hair out of my face before rolling up my sleeves and placing both hands on the metal lever.

I tugged once more, using all of my strength and all of my weight in an attempt to pull the lever down. The metal groaned under my influence and began to move. It was tough and it was slow and bits of rust flaked off and fell to the floor as I did my work.

Eventually, and with a cry of triumph escaping my lips, the great lever came down, clicking into place. I heard a faint mechanism react to the pulling of the lever, but I had no idea what it would do.

"Was this really a good idea?" I asked, resulting to talking to myself since I had no one there with me. The mechanism stopped whirring and, for a small second, nothing happened.

My hopes of salvation were dashed until a rumbling occurred. I looked around to see the room shaking.

"Another earthquake?" I wondered as I fell into the wall, grasping desperately at the plaster to stay standing.

The shaking stopped after a few moments and the mechanism whirred once more, the lever slowly lifting back into place.

I frowned, the lever had obviously been used to cause the quake, even I could deduce that much. I just had no idea how that would work.

I shook my head, "Doesn't matter" I muttered to myself, turning around to leave the tiny cupboard of a room I had entered.

And then I was paralysed, for right behind me, staring into my eyes, was the little ghost girl.

I realised that this must have been how Jack felt. I had no control over my body anymore, I couldn't move, couldn't flinch, couldn't even blink. All I could do was stare into the little girl's one eye and one empty socket.

"Follow me" the girl grinned, a grin I didn't trust, "I can give you what you really want" she chuckled as she floated backwards.

Without my permission, my body started moving. My feet awkwardly shuffled forwards, making me move towards the little girl, following her as she went to the left.

I expected to see the giant hole from before, but I was shocked to see, through the little girl's transparent body of course, that the hole had been mended. Dirty wooden floorboards connected the hallway before me, confusing me beyond belief.

Regardless, I could do nothing but follow the little girl as she continued to float, taking me towards another staircase, this one leading to the floor above us.

"N-No" I managed to croak out, my gaze transfixed on the girl, '_I don't want to follow you anywhere!'_

However, no amount of resisting could prevent me from soldiering on. It couldn't stop this little girl from making me go up the creaking wooden staircase and it certainly was not going to save me for whatever she had in store for me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I despaired as I sat in the classroom, kicking my legs back and forth as they dangled off the teacher's desk. Tom was sat in the middle of the classroom, his arm still draped across his face and his breathing steady, whilst Jaime sat at the opposite end of the classroom, huddled in a corner.

I looked again at the door, the one I was unable to open due to the wiry hair wrapped tightly around it.

"How are we ever going to get out of here?" I mumbled, moving to glance at my companions, desperately.

Tom didn't give any indication that he had heard me and I was starting to wonder if he had fallen asleep. The only response I got from Jaime was a blank stare before she lowered her head onto her knees once more.

_'We've given up' _I realised as I hopped off the desk, slumping to the floor to assume a more comfortable position, _'We're not getting out of here…'_

And I sat like that for who knows how long. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours, but not one of us moved to do anything. I just stared at the tiny pieces of glass across the floor.

Eventually, the silence was interrupted by another great rumbling. Another quake was upon us and I reflexively dropped to the floor and scooted beneath the teacher's desk. It was the safest place to be, or safer than the middle of the room, that's for sure.

I heard shouts as I screwed my eyes shut. Some from Jaime, some from Tom, some from me I'm sure.

As the sounds faded away and the room stopped shaking, I crawled from my hiding place.

"T-Tom?" I called out, "Jaime!?"

"H-Here" Jaime's voice called out as a desk was pushed away from a wall to reveal Jaime. However, my eyes were drawn to the rift that had opened up between us.

Separating me from Jaime was a huge hole. It split the classroom in half and the gap was too wide to jump.

"W-Where's Tom!?" Jaime yelled as she shakily pushed herself up to her legs and scrambled to the edge of the gap, looking down.

I feared what I might see, but I scrambled towards the edge, peering over the hole to see beneath.

All I could see was darkness. Nothing stirred in the dark beneath us and no light allowed us to see anything. Nothing flickered or glinted or made a sound.

"Tom!" I called out, my voice reaching down the abyss, "Are you down there? Can you hear me?"

Jaime's pleading voice joined mine, "Tom? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked, though she received no reply.

We both looked up after several minutes of eerie silence. Our eyes met from across the gap and I could almost read her thoughts.

"No" I told her, "He's not dead! He's alive and down there! We have to go and get him!"

Jaime shook her head, "B-But…" she gulped, pushing herself away from the edge, "Why isn't he responding to us?"

I stood up, stalking away from the edge, "He can't die" I muttered, turning my back on the girl with me, "Not him, not Tom…"

Images floated before my eyes, of Tom. Of how he was the one who had helped me. He was the one who had seen what I was doing to myself and he didn't shun me for it, not like my parents, my own mother and father who kicked me to the curb.

'_You're no son of ours' _I remembered them telling me before they shut the door on me, forever.

But through Tom, I'd found a new home. It might be strange at first, living with your friend and his family, but it was like being adopted, or at least, what I imagine being adopted would feel like.

Regardless, I couldn't leave here without Tom. How could I return to our house, our home, without him?

I couldn't. I whipped around to face Jaime, "He's still alive" I told her, with no room for her to argue, "And we're going to find him and then we're going to get the hell out of here!"

Jaime looked down, her eyes diverted. She nodded her head meekly, "Okay" she whispered, bringing her gaze up to meet mine once more.

"We'll find him" she said, and in her eyes, I saw that she believed it a little more now.

I let a small smile flicker across my face, "Just one problem" she said, causing me to frown, "Have you seen this giant hole?"

I looked, realising what she meant and embarrassed I hadn't realised something so obvious sooner, "Oh, yeah…" I scratched the back of my head, "Well, that and the fact that we're trapped in here."

Jaime shook her head, "Look at the doors now."

And so I did. And I was taken aback. There was no longer any hair on the door, it had just gone, completely. Not even a trace of hair, not one strand, clung to the door or littered the floor.

"How did- No, I'm not gonna shoot a gift horse in the mouth" I told myself, "Let's get out of here then!"

I moved over to the door on my side of the room and tugged it, relishing the moment when it slid open and let me outside.

I looked to my right, to watch Jaime come through her door, only to be disappointed again. "God damn…" I muttered as I looked before me. The rift had continued out of the classroom, separating the hallway outside of it, effectively splitting Jaime and I up.

Jaime sighed from the other side of the gap and clenched her fists at her sides, "Today is not our day" she muttered, looking down the abyss before bringing her eyes up to meet mine.

Emerald and sapphire met as she spoke, "You know what we have to do, right?"

I gulped, "Split up and look for clues?" I asked, wishing that this were just a Scooby Doo cartoon because no one ever got hurt in Scooby Doo.

Jaime nodded, "Yeah" she responded, "I guess… I'll go this way" she threw a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the hallway behind her, "And you can go that way" she pointed towards me.

I turned around, the corridor looked suspicious and unfamiliar and gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, "I-I don't want to go alone" I told her, whipping my head back round to look at Jaime.

But she already had her back to me, walking away, down the corridor, "Don't be such a baby" she chuckled, though her voice was strained, "I'll see you soon Dylan" she turned her head, flashing me a grin and saluting before turning a corner.

I gulped once more, turning around and looking at the shadowed hallway before me, "I aint scared of you" I muttered as I took my first step forward, "Shadows can't hurt me…"

And for the most part, they didn't. I followed the white halls, only the occasional echo of something long past sounding, causing me to stop and quiver until I found it safe enough to carry on. Progress was slow, but eventually I was led to some stairs.

"Wait…" I muttered to myself, "There weren't stairs here…" I frowned.

I was the one retracing our footsteps and we'd never found any stairs. It was like the whole layout of the building had changed.

I looked behind me and saw a sign, '2-A'. That had been the room I had woken up in, with Tom and Jaime. But…

There had been a huge gap here before! I remembered, we had been forced to go the way I had come from, but now it was like there had never been a hole. The floorboards looked no different than the ones further along, "What on Earth…" I muttered.

I shrugged my shoulders, best not to think about it. I moved to the staircase and went up, every stair groaning under my weight.

I sighed as I reached the top, these hallways looked no different than any others, well, with the exception of the bodies that littered the place that I conveniently didn't look at.

"If I don't look, they're not real" I muttered childishly as I made my way forward, wandering aimlessly.

"I need to go down" I realised, "Tom fell so I need to go down, not up!" I facepalmed, "Stupid."

It was then I heard something, a whimpering, a girl crying, coming from somewhere ahead.

As a gay guy, vulnerable crying girls meant nothing to me and if Left 4 Dead had taught me anything, it was that you should never ever try to approach one, because they'll probably claw your throat out.

Still, I found my feet moving me forwards. "Damn it" I hissed as I rounded a corner, entered through a semi-open door and looked around a bookshelf.

What I found was no with waiting to claw my face off, nor was it a ghost ready to cause another earthquake. A girl sat there, her face buried in her skirt, but even without glancing at her face, I knew I didn't know her.

If her outfit was anything to go off of, this tiny girl was Japanese. She had a school uniform on, one that I'd seen many girls wearing on the posters on Michelle's walls.

"H-Hello" I called out. Her head whipped up instantly, proving my suspicion that she was Japanese. Her short black hair brushed against her shoulders and tears stained her cheeks as she scrambled backwards, pushing herself to the feet with the aid of the wall behind her.

She uttered something in Japanese. Even if I had been better with the language, I doubted I would have been able to translate between her sobs.

"K-Konnichiwa?" I struggled to remember the word for hello, "Do you speak English?" I didn't want to get any closer to her for fear of what she might do.

Her sobs seemed to slow as she took me in. She wiped the tears from her face with the sleeves of her shirt before looking at me, "W-Who are you?"

Well, I guess she does speak English, "My name's Dylan…" I introduced myself, taking a small, cautionary step forwards.

"Dylan…" she repeated my name, standing up straighter, without the aid of the wall, "Y-You're not Japanese" she said. It wasn't even a question.

I shook my head, "I'm English" I told her, "H-How did you get in here?"

The girl shook her head, "I-I… we did it wrong… you did too" she told him, "You're supposed to add another chant for Sachiko."

I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, "What? We did what wrong? What's Sachiko?"

The girl shook her head, "Not what, who" she corrected him, "The little girl, she has a red dress" she told him, her voice going higher and breaking slightly, "D-Don't… she, she'll…" she burst into tears once more.

I panicked, "Ah! O-Okay, it's okay!" I reached forward, looping an arm around her to awkwardly rub her back, "W-What's your name?" I asked, trying to soothe the Asian girl.

She rubbed her eyes again, "H-" she hiccupped, "Haru. My n-name's Haru."

I nodded my head, "Well, Haru, why don't you come with me?" I asked her, "Two of my friends are here, I'm going to find them, then we're going to leave…"

She nodded her head, "O-Okay" she sniffed, pulling herself together.

It was then I noticed her. She looked really worse for wear. She was pale, but it was obvious that it was not her natural skin colour. Her face and clothes were smudged with dirt and the bottom of her green skirt was stained red. Even her socks were torn.

If progress was slow before, it was even slower now. I could feel the whole girl's body shake beneath my arm and she froze up at the slightest sound.

However, our progress suddenly took a turn for the quicker when we found someone.

It was a boy. A really tall, Japanese boy. Haru froze up instantly at the sight of him, and clutched onto my arm

Haru murmured a small curse in Japanese in a fearful voice as the boy's gaze turned to us. A maniacal grin spread across his face as he chuckled darkly.

"Haru" he chanted, beckoning towards himself, repeating her name over and over, "Haru, Haru, Haru."

She shook her head wildly, grabbing my arm and turning around before running. I saw the boy's angered face long enough before I was pulled around to know he was going to pursue the two of us.

"Who is he?" I yelled as I ran, catching up with Haru, "How does he know you!?"

We ran past the stairs I had come up as she scrambled for an answer, "Shun" she shouted to me, "He's… my friend. He came here with me" she mentioned, keeping her pace, "He… he couldn't take it…"

I frowned as I turned a corner alongside Haru, I hoped Jaime wouldn't turn out that way, or worse, Tom.

In front of us was a problem. There was yet another gap in the hall, with only one plank bridging the gap. I had no doubt it would support Haru's weight, she was a small girl and I estimated her to be fifteen, but me, I was no doubt heavier.

Still, I urged her forward, onto the plank. I could hear Shun's footsteps as he turned the corner and as he sped up, running down the hall towards us. Haru stepped out cautiously, the board creaking slightly as she shuffled forward, her arms out at either side of her to balance herself.

I turned around to see Shun bearing on me. I knew I shouldn't step onto the plank, at least, not until Haru had made it across.

But if I didn't move now, he was going to get me, and he was going to hurt me.

I moved forward, "Hurry!" I yelled to Haru, "He's gaining on us!"

The girl did hurry, her footsteps hastened as she wobbled and made her way across. She turned to see Shun, her eyes widened in fear, "Hurry Dylan!"

She didn't have to tell me twice. Against all common sense, I ran, right across the board. I knew it was dangerous and a bad idea as soon as the board creaked in protest.

The board snapped and I pitched forward. I hit the floor hard and started to slip backwards, my legs dangling over the dark abyss. My hands scrambled for something to grab onto before Haru's hands met my own.

She tugged. My shirt got stuck on the board and lifted, resulting in the wood being rubbed against my bare skin. It stung as I scrambled forward with the help of Haru. I climbed out of the hole fully and collapsed on the floor, looking up at a panicking Haru.

Her eyes were diverted from me and looking at the hole, the broken board and her deranged friend.

I had the courtesy to not look up her skirt, not that I'd ever have the desire to, as I lifted my head up. Across the gap stood Shun, screaming and shouting in Japanese.

I'm glad I couldn't understand him, because Haru winced at his words and her hands came to cover her ears as she turned around and ran away.

I scrambled up and ran, joining Haru in the abandonment of Shun. We ran and we ran, until we couldn't run anymore, then we walked.

Suddenly, a chuckle escaped her lips. I quirked my eyebrow in surprise before I started to laugh and soon enough, the two of us were fighting to control our laughter.

If I had to be here, I was at least glad enough that someone was here with me, even if it was a Japanese girl I'd never met before. It was better than no one.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I saluted as I followed the corridor, leaving Dylan behind to back track as I continued forward.

If I had to be honest, I was more scared than I'd let on. I figured Dylan was going to freak out anyway and there was nothing I could do to prevent that, but I could stop myself from losing my shit.

But now that he couldn't see me, now that I didn't have to be strong, I could feel my confidence ebbing away. With each step, with each creak of wooden floorboards I became more wary and more easily spooked.

It was a blessing that I didn't bump into anything. Well, nothing apart from the body of a young girl.

I'd moved into a room with an ajar door, figuring that I'd find someone in there who just hadn't bothered shutting the door completely. But no.

I gasped when I spotted her. She was sat on the floor, leaning back against the wall, below the apparently unbreakable windows.

Bracing myself, I walked over to her. She didn't stir, not that I thought she was but I couldn't help that small suspicious side of me that thought, _'What if she stands up? Like a zombie out for my brains.'_

Gulping nervously, I reached a shaky hand out towards her. As my finger ghosted against the veil of her hair, she fell to the side, away from me. Her hair fell around her so I could gaze down at her face and I almost retched at the sight.

There was nothing left of her. All traces of skin and muscle had gone, leaving a bare skull behind. I was thankful there was nothing chewing at her, but it surprised me considering there was actually plenty of flesh left on her body.

Her legs stretched before her, pale and white, almost blue. Thin scars criss crossed her legs and I wondered what had happened to her, "It must have been painful" I grimaced, looking back to her skull.

My eyes were drawn to the girl's clothing. Attached to her shirt was a tag with a picture and writing on it. I snatched the identification, almost tearing her shirt in my hasty rush to get my hands away from the dead girl.

"Huh…" I muttered as I looked at the laminated badge. I couldn't read what it said, so I didn't know who she was or what the badge signified, but the picture displayed a pretty Japanese girl.

"She looks young" I muttered to myself, "Younger than me, anyway" I smiled sadly, taking in the young girl with dyed blonde hair, "Pretty too…"

For some reason, I took the ID. I don't know why, it just felt like the right thing to do.

"I'll find out who you are" I told her, wondering if she could hear me, "You won't be forgotten." That was all I could think to say before I left, hurrying through the open door and continuing down the corridor.

It was only a few steps before a stairwell came into view. I grinned, jogging to the top and looking down, "Down" I grinned, all thoughts of the girl gone for the moment, "I can find Tom!" I sighed happily as I made my way down the stairs hurriedly.

The floor below was brighter than the one above, but the halls still looked identical. "It's like a maze" I sighed as I made my way to the right, shouting for Tom.

"Tom!" I yelled, wondering if he would be able to hear me down here, "It's Jaime! Are you down here!"

I heard a muffled shout further ahead and ran forward, hopeful. I threw open a door, hoping to find Tom.

Only, it wasn't Tom. Before me, shining brightly, was another one of those blue balls of light, perhaps even the same one I had encountered before.

"No!" I yelled as I threw my arms up to protect myself from whatever the ghost was going to do.

Still, I wasn't fast enough. A deafening shriek, that of a screaming woman, sounded and blood filled the room almost instantly. It was like the substance was thrown by the force of the scream.

It covered me, splashing off my arms and staining my clothes. It even hit my face, almost blinding me.

I threw myself away from the open door, one eye shut to keep the blood out of it. Scrambling to my feet, I ran away, scanning the rooms for a place to hide. As I ran, blood seemed to smear the windows and seep from the doors, as if it was following me, chasing me.

"Get away!" I yelled, barrelling into a wall as I tried to turn a corner, "Fucking ghosts!"

I made my way to the one door in the hallway that wasn't bleeding. I couldn't read the sign, but I was too panicked to take it into account anyway as I rushed in, throwing the door open, only to slam it shut behind me.

I leaned back against the door, wiping the blood from my eye, or attempting too anyway. The blood on my arms didn't help me from wiping blood from my face, so I did my best just squinting.

Which is why, at first, I mistook the corpse before me for my own.

I screamed first, then cried second. My mind whirred as I tried to comprehend what had happened, how I had been killed or why I could see my body before me. But I squinted harder and realised that it wasn't me, it was Alyssa.

And a huge wave of relief flew over me.

I crawled forward, somehow finding myself on the floor, until I was beside her. There was no way she was alive. There was an open wound at her shoulder, and at her chest, and an ugly red smile across her throat.

I shook my head, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Better you than me" I laughed, "I would've been able to fight them off"

It was then I noticed the bloodstains on her skirt. Gingerly, I lifted her skirt, moving the fabric up to her waist.

I shivered as I saw what lay beneath. Her upper thighs were scratched, leaving small red marks along her skin. Her underwear was in tatters, ripped and stained.

I moved the skirt back, cringing at the thought of what might have happened, "Here?" I questioned, "We're in an abandoned school, guess you're not safe anywhere" I sighed, feeling oddly cold and apathetic,

"Why don't I care?" I questioned, almost as if I was asking my sister, "It's pretty clear what happened here… that could happen to me."

Goosebumps rose all over my skin as I chanced a look behind me, just checking to see if anyone was sneaking up on me, "Y-You've always been kind of a whore, but you didn't deserve this" I muttered, my emotions returning.

Tears pricked my eyelids, "God damn it! Why were you even here!" I yelled at her body, "I thought it was just Dylan, Tom and I! W-Wait… if you're here, is everyone else here too? Charlie and Michelle and Jack?"

I shook my head, bringing my hands to pull at my short hair, "It doesn't matter! Because now you're dead!" I yelled, tears finally falling.

I brushed them away with my bloodied arm angrily, "But I'm not dying. Fuck that!" I yelled, "I'm better, I can survive!" I shouted over and over, pulling myself up to my feet.

I turned and stalked towards the door, leaving Alyssa behind me. I stopped as I opened the door, looking back, "A…Alyssa…" I choked, blinking away a new wave of tears, God… I'm sorry Ali… If-If I knew you were here, I would have been faster…"

With that, I shut the door, gently. "Bye…"

I took a step backward, steeling myself once more. I could not break down now, even if I knew the body of my twin sister was lying beyond that door, "Not now" I muttered to myself, "Not yet, you can cry when you're safe…"

I turned on my heel and walked briskly away, clenching and unclenching my fists. In my paranoia, every corpse I saw was somebody I knew.

I tuned it all out, which is why, at first, I missed the one-armed body.

I did a double take as I noticed the colour of the corpse's skin. It was a rich brown. It made me look since it was the only body I had seen that appeared to be anything other than Asian, or Japanese to be specific… well, apart from Alyssa.

I feared who the dark skinned boy was as soon as I got closer, "N-No…" I muttered as I knelt down, placing a hand on the boy's back. The back of his shirt was torn, exposing the deep wounds on his back. I put my arms on the other side of the boy, reaching over his body, only to realise he had no arm.

"Oh my God…" I breathed out as I brought my hands back slightly bloody. The blood was congealing, but it was still sticky enough to paint my hands red.

"It can't be…" I denied, "Not another one…" I looked down the corridor to see a trail of red on the floor, starting, or more like ending, at the boy.

"Jack…" I took a deep breath and brought my hands over him again to pull him, so he would face up at me.

When his body turned, blood fell from the stump of his arm, staining me with yet another's blood. I looked down at my friend's face, his eyes bugging out of his head and his face twisted in a pained expression, "Jack… not you too…"

It must have hurt. From what I could tell, the cut to the back killed him and I had a sinking feeling that the loss of his arm occurred before he had passed.

I was about to let myself cry before there was a sound behind me, like a deep exhale of breath. My eyes widened as I began to turn around, only for someone to grab my short hair and pull.

"Ah!" I cried, being pulled backwards, my legs flailing outwards, accidentally kicking Jack in my feeble attempts to free myself.

The grip was tight, I didn't even know how this person had managed to grab my hair considering it was so short, but they weren't letting go.

"Get off me!" I yelled, moving my arms to scratch at the person's arms. I gasped as I felt skin tear beneath my nails. I brought my hands in front of me to see bits of flesh and blood coating my fingernails, "Ah!"

The man, I was sure it was a man from the muscles on his arm, tugged again, bringing my head down to the floor.

I looked up at the man. It was more monster than man, like Frankenstein's monster or a zombified janitor. My eyes were immediately drawn to the man's axe.

_'That must be what got Jack' _I thought as I yelled obscenities at the man before me. He brought his axe up with the hand not gripping me and a shot of adrenaline ran through me.

"No!" I yelled, putting all my weight on my upper back and reaching my legs up to kick at the zombie man's face, "Fuck! You!" I yelled, kicking him ferociously.

He let go of my hair, swiping my legs away with his massive hands, sending me crashing to the side. That leg would bruise, I could feel it already.

I scrambled up, looking at the man in front of me. He stood up fully and readied to swing his axe.

It was like I had become a warrior, fighting for your life can really make a person strong, and quick. I ducked beneath the blow and ran forward, rushing the man whilst he was off balance.

It didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I thought he would tumble to the floor, but he only teetered before regaining his balance. With a groan, he brought his axe hand up and a plan formed in my mind.

I barrelled into him again, wrapping my arms around the creature and waiting. It groaned once more and began to bring his arm down, swinging the axe towards my back. I screamed and pushed away from the zombie, throwing myself to the side and hitting my head.

But my plan had worked. Through my dizzy vision and ringing in my ears, I could see that the monster had brought the axe down onto himself. I cheered in my mind before I realised, it didn't seem to have hurt him at all.

He just wretched the weapon out of his torso and lumbered sideways. I ducked the swing of his axe once more, wooden splinters flying around us as the metal struck the wall.

"I'm not dying!" I screamed, bringing a foot up to kick him squarely in the stomach. Surprisingly, it did make him tumble backwards.

As he fell, he let go of the axe, leaving it in the wall above my head. I bumped my head on the handle standing up before grabbing it with both hands. The weight of it almost sent me crashing to the floor but I managed to keep it off the ground as I ran towards the recovering janitor.

"Die!" I yelled as I brought the axe down between the man's open legs. The weapon hit flesh and a jolt ran through my arms and into my core, making me feel sick as skin tore and bone broke.

I shivered, my hands stuck to the handle of the axe, "A-Are you dead?" I asked the creature, gulping at its still form.

A nervous chuckle escaped my throat as I let go of the handle, my palms covered in a cold sweat, "Yeah, that's what you get, I'm just too tough" I boasted, trying to cover up the sick feeling in my stomach with bravado.

I walked, stepping over the body to sit before Jack, "Jack…" I muttered, "I'm sorry for you too, you and Alyssa, you're both… you're dead…" I shook my head, no tears left in me to cry for either of my fallen friends, "But maybe you're somewhere better than this…"

Through my muttering, I didn't notice the man get up, or unsheathe his axe from his groin. That's why it took me by surprise, when he separated my body from my head.


End file.
